


Overwhelmingly Positive

by Alexgalaxies



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Light Angst, distraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22580656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexgalaxies/pseuds/Alexgalaxies
Summary: Claire has been going through it. The last thing she needs is Morgan trying to "help" her but here she is challenged to do something good for someone. Thanks a lot, Morgan.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Morgan Reznick
Comments: 13
Kudos: 59





	Overwhelmingly Positive

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to the two who beta'd this! @belaluxe and @sharker-de-marker

It was the beginning of another workday. Morgan had already changed into her scrubs and was in line to get coffee. She was lost in her thoughts when it was her turn to order. It was too early to be so full of worry, yet here she was; worried that Dr. Glassman would say something to Dr. Lim or Dr. Andrews about her arthritis. Since her first lead surgery, she has been filled with worry, even though she was seemingly fine. But she had nothing to worry about because the surgery was a success, and Dr. Andrews was proud of her. Realistically- she had nothing to worry about, pertaining to being told that she was not qualified, but she could possibly be reprimanded for not disclosing her condition and being a potential risk for the surgery. 

Claire, on the other hand, was supposedly late again. Only now coming into work, but not in such haste to get changed. This was a slightly different occasion though, she wasn’t late because she was hooking up with some random person, she had simply slept in after hitting the snooze button. She did go out last night, met a guy, and ended up making out with him in a bathroom stall but she left before things had gotten any more intimate. He wanted to take it back to her place and she didn’t. He didn’t want to go back to his place either. So she had gotten called a tease and a bitch and he walked out on her before she could change her mind. It ruined the mood for the night. 

Morgan looked up, and as she was paying for her coffee, she saw Claire walking into the building. She wanted to talk to Claire. Taken out of her thoughts she hurriedly told the cashier “Keep the change,” grabbing her coffee and rushing off to catch up with Claire. Her mood now shifted to an excited one.  _ Claire isn’t late!  _ Her mind was at ease upon seeing the other woman, who was on time for the most part.

Claire caught a quick glance of the blonde, she saw her walking towards her and quickened her pace. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, much less Morgan Reznick, the blonde just had a way of getting to her in a way no one else did. Morgan kept trying to make her confront her feelings. Claire was just hoping to avoid any more confrontation. She was so damn  _ tired _ of it. It felt nonstop; constantly being reminded that her mom died; constantly reminded that she was doing all the wrong things; constantly reminded she’s spiraling and that she almost wants to hit rock bottom. She doesn't want to deal with it, she just wanted it to go away.  _ Not now Morgan, not now. Please not now.  _

Whether or not Claire wanted her to, Morgan caught up anyway. She tapped Claire’s shoulder and in a more chipper than usual tone the blond spoke, “Good morning,” now at Claire’s side keeping her pace.

Without any greeting, Claire responded by sighing, “I’m not in the mood,” she put on a stern tone. “And I’m not late yet so don’t start,”

“All I said was ‘Good morning’,” A look of concern appeared on Morgan’s face.

“That’s all you needed to say,” She hoped Morgan would get the point and back off or at least not start anything. The taller woman didn’t concede, she just paused with her mouth open trying to say something. “I need to go change unless you actually have something to say,”

Now Morgan was taken aback by Claire’s attitude. She just made sure not to show it.  _ Maybe I shouldn’t say anything.  _ She’s feeling vulnerable but she doesn’t want to spit back anything negative or condescending as a defense mechanism. “I just wanted to talk to you about something is all,”

“What is it?” Claire spat out.

Morgan was full of concern and she wanted Claire to know. She outstretched a hand and stopped Claire, urging her to look up at her. “Claire, are you okay?”

Ignoring the taller woman’s attempt to get her to open up, she lied, “I’m fine, was that all you had to say?” She turned to start walking again. “Because I’ve got to go change before I  _ am  _ late,”

Morgan followed. “No, but-”

Stopping abruptly, Claire with wide annoyed eyes looked at Morgan, “Say it before I decide to be done with this conversation.”

Feeling a sense of urgency Morgan spoke, stumbling over her words, “I h-had an idea, a challenge for you, for us,” She squinted, worried Claire would shoot it down.

Claire put on a very sarcastic tone, she was irritated and she let it show on her face. “Wow. A challenge on top of meeting the demands of our  _ jobs.  _ Sounds great.” She nodded for emphasis.

The blonde tried to defend her idea. “Hey, just hear me out okay?”

“Fine, what is it?” she said very obviously done with the conversation.

“I was thinking maybe we could each do something overwhelmingly positive for someone today, then share at the end of the day.” She was hoping Claire would do it because even though it was mainly a joke or poking fun at Claire, she really missed ‘Saint Claire’ and wanted her to remember who she was. Also, if Morgan did something positive too it would help her stop being perceived as just a bitch at work, but mainly it was a plan for Claire.

Claire rolled her eyes and scoffed in disbelief at Morgan’s suggestion. “Overwhelmingly positive? We’re already doctors,”

She crossed her hand over the cup in her other hand in the shape of clasped hands. “Come on, I just thought it could be fun. Humor me?” Morgan pleaded. “I’ll do it too,” She offered.

With a sigh, she conceded. “Whatever, fine, just don’t irritate me about it today.”

After officially starting her workday, Claire realized she was actually worried about having to do something nice for someone else today.  _ Fuck. Not just ‘nice’ -it has to be ‘overwhelmingly positive’ What the hell does that even mean? I could just not do it, Morgan can’t make me do it, but if she asks… I could lie! I could lie.  _ The idea made her sad.  _ Why is doing something positive for someone so hard now?  _

That question lingered with her through her duties, that and the weight of Morgan’s request. She tried so hard to fulfill the challenge. Claire knew Morgan would badger her about it, and would probably be able to tell that she was lying. Claire just didn’t have enough energy for anything other than bottling her emotions and making sure she didn’t have a breakdown at work. Especially knowing that once the day was over she could drown herself in hard liquor and sex. She could just be numb as soon as her responsibilities were over.

At lunch, Claire thought she was lucky when Morgan hadn’t shown up for the first ten minutes. Then Morgan showed up. “Have you done anything ‘overwhelmingly positive’ for anyone today?” she asked in a chipper tone and slight jazz hands for emphasis on the word ‘positive’.

Claire mulled over what she had done over her the first part of her shift, she looked all around the cafeteria.  _ I held the door for that one person, I did my job? I-  _ “I gave the person in line in front of me change to help pay for lunch?”  _ That’s not overwhelmingly positive. Man, I didn’t do anything super positive today, maybe helpful? Does that count?  _

“Sounds good!” Morgan smiled at Claire, “Think you could do another thing today? Keep the ball rolling?” 

Morgan being this ‘happy’ felt very foreign to Claire, almost like she was trying to rub it in. Feelings of inadequacy found their way into Claire.  _ Shit, I was right. It doesn’t count… Why does it matter? Why do I care?  _ She looked down at her hands folded together.

Morgan saw the distress make its way onto Claire’s face. She quickly moved to sit next to her. “Hey, you don’t have to! Helping pay for lunch is plenty positive!” She placed a hand on top of Claire’s reassuringly. She looked down at her watch, “Oh! My break is over but we’ll talk some more later, okay?” She waited for the shorter woman to look up and nod at her before she left.

Claire rested her head on her hands and sighed. She was glad Morgan had left but she also felt lonely, which usually wasn’t an issue.  _ It was Morgan being comforting, god damn it. Morgan needs to just go back to annoying me, that was easier than this. Fuck, I still need to do something better.  _ When the remaining time for her lunch break ended she went back to work, trying to keep her mind from dwelling on everything. Although, the thought of doing something for someone persisted.

Through the rest of the day, she couldn’t find something else to do for someone else. She did small things, like picking up a pen someone had dropped, offered to talk through things with patients or one of their family members to help put their mind at ease - but that was just part of her job. Claire couldn’t shake the general uneasiness of doing something better, she felt like she wasn’t enough anymore— that who she was right then was who she always was underneath a façade of optimism.

Finally, at the end of her shift, she was relieved that she didn’t have to keep trying, she was exhausted.  _ Besides Morgan said what I did was enough, it was enough.  _ She just couldn’t help but feel like she was just trying to convince herself.  _ Of course, it wasn’t enough. Morgan was just being polite for once. She probably did something ‘overwhelmingly positive’ because she thinks she’s better than everyone. She wanted to look better than me, well fuck her.  _ She went to the locker room and changed clothes with her mind in a pool of negative thoughts becoming angrier over time. What kept her going was being able to go drown her sorrow masked with anger in something strong at a bar later.

Then as if she had summoned the woman who was plaguing her thoughts, Morgan appeared walking in to change as well. She walked to her locker and grabbed her articles of clothing. Just as Claire stood from putting on her shoes and was going to walk out, Morgan turned to face her, “Claire, are we going to talk?” 

She wasn’t in the mood. Especially after thinking herself into being angry so she wouldn’t be sad. “About what?” Claire feigned ignorance.

Morgan had confusion on her face. “Our day? Aren’t you curious about what I did as part of  _ our  _ challenge?”

“I mean, I figured we’d talk about it at some point,” Claire shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I didn’t think it would be in the locker room while changing,” She let her irritation sound in her voice in hopes that Morgan would take the hint that she didn’t want to talk.

Morgan definitely got the hint, she just didn’t care. Claire was doing her best today and she wasn’t gonna let her go home and be sad. She called her on her inconsideration, just so Claire would take it down a notch in her level of aggression. “You were about to leave, without saying anything,”

She looked away from Morgan’s gaze, she visibly shrank a little. “Fine, when do you wanna ta-”

Morgan wasted no time in saying what she wanted. “Have dinner with me.”

“What?” Claire was completely caught off guard, she expected Morgan to say they should get coffee or that they could talk on the way out to her car, not anywhere close to  _ dinner _ . Claire laughed figuring Morgan was joking.

Morgan was very serious. Nodding, she said “I want you to have dinner with me. At my place,”

_ Why would you want to be near me? I’ve been trying to avoid you and been nothing but short with you.  _ Claire was taken aback by Morgan’s request. “W-why would you want that?” She tried to imagine ways to get out of it but she couldn’t come up with anything that wouldn’t just sound like she was going out to get drunk again. 

Morgan saw distress make its way onto Claire’s face, not wanting to scare her she belittled her previous statement. “Just say yes, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just dinner. Okay?”

She sighs feeling defeated about not being able to make up a valid excuse. “Okay,” she concedes.

“Okay?” Morgan is surprised that Claire didn’t argue with her. Claire nods at her. “Well, come over in like half an hour to an hour, okay? I’ll text you my address,” Claire nods and goes to walk away again, once she reached the door she heard Morgan call out again “Wear whatever you want to!”

_ Oh, god. How am I going to dress? Why do I care?  _ “Alright,” She called back and then she left.

Claire arrived at her apartment and laid on her bed. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be going out.  _ Unless I go after dinner…  _ Then her phone buzzed, a message from Morgan, with her address and an ‘x -Morgan’ Claire’s face scrunched with confusion.  _ What was that for?  _ Ignoring it she tossed her phone on the bed and sat up looking at her closet.  _ It’s dinner with a coworker. Is there a dress code for that?  _ Claire figures she shouldn’t just wear the clothes she wore to work. She pulled out a nice dress and a blouse with jeans. She opted for the dress since it was comfortable. She laid it on the bed and went to take a shower. When she was done, she felt a little better. Claire put her clothes on before putting on some light makeup and doing something very simple with her hair. She used a little clip and put some of her hair back to keep it out of her face. Once she approved of how she looked, she grabbed her phone and sent a message to Morgan. ‘Should I come over now or wait a little bit longer?’

Morgan responded after a couple of minutes, ‘Now is fine!’ Claire grabbed her purse, slipped on some flats, and went to her car to begin her journey to Morgan’s.

Upon arriving at Morgan’s place, Claire parked and stayed sat in her car. She realized she was nervous. She didn’t know what the night had in store. Was it going to be pleasant? Is Morgan going to try to confront me? Or try to get me to confront my feelings? No, it’s just dinner. We are going to talk about work and whatever the heck Morgan did today. It’ll be fine. Claire took a few breaths before sending a message to Morgan saying she had arrived, which was met with a quick smiley face in return. She walked to Morgan’s door and knocked. When it opened, she was met with the smiling blonde, who looked beautiful and was dressed nicely. Claire sucked in a breath. She wasn’t scared, just surprised - and she couldn’t pinpoint why.

“Come in, come in!” She gestured to Claire, invitingly. Claire smiled politely at her before stepping inside. Morgan shut the door behind her. “Make yourself at home,” Morgan was excited to have the shorter woman over, even after work.

Claire looked around taking in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that there was some soft music playing in the background. She doesn’t know what she expected out of Morgan’s style or decorating but it was nice. “Hmm, something smells nice, did you cook?”

“Why yes, I did,” Morgan smiled again. “Thank you,” There was a moment where Claire was looking around at the walls, which felt a little awkward. “You can sit wherever you want,” She gestured to the living room. “Or you can go look around if you want. The bathroom is down that hallway. I will be over here in the kitchen,” 

Claire nodded at her, “Okay,” Morgan walked back into the kitchen. Claire did as she was told she could, she went down the hallway to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and looked into the mirror. It was bizarre, she has looked at her face every day, and yet she almost didn’t recognize herself. The face staring back wasn’t wearing makeup in the hopes that some guy at a bar would find attractive enough, the person in the mirror wasn’t dressing to let anyone know she was looking to get laid. This person resembled someone she once knew, not too long ago. This person was having dinner with a coworker, dressing how she wanted to, not getting drunk and letting herself be used by someone who didn’t care about her.

When Claire was done looking at herself and thinking about being here at Morgan’s tonight instead of indulging in self-destructive behavior, she came back out into the living room area and saw the dining room where Morgan was setting the table. When Morgan noticed her watching she asked, “Hey, are you okay?” Claire had an almost sorrowful look on her face.

She shook her head, “Yeah, I’m fine,” She smiled, trying to make it look like she was actually okay. She was at dinner and she wasn’t going to put a damper on the night just because she was sad.

Morgan had a look of concern, but she ignored her urge to ask if Claire was sure. “Okay, well you go ahead and sit. I will be right back with food,” She pulled out a chair for Claire and scooted it in when she sat down.  _ Wow, a gentleman— or is it gentle _ **_woman_ ** _?.  _ Claire smiled to herself.  _ Why did that pop into my head? _ Morgan left and when she returned she had a dish with pasta and grilled chicken, she placed it on the table. “Oh! Red or white wine?” Morgan looked at Claire.

“Um, either is fine,” She said looking up at the blonde. 

Morgan retreated to the kitchen and came back out with the red wine and two glasses for them. “Here we are!” She placed a glass in front of Claire and one in front of where she was going to sit. Then uncorked the bottle, pouring Claire some, and herself some. Setting the bottle on the table and sitting down she said, “Bon appetit,” She smiled at Claire, who smiled back. They each plated their food and took a bite.

“It’s delicious, I didn’t know you could cook like this,” She gestured towards her plate.

Morgan took a bite of her food and after she swallowed she replied, “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” She winked.

They continued with dinner and enjoyed their food. They had some pleasant conversation. Morgan didn’t say anything that made Claire feel inadequate, make any jabs at her, or even mention how she has been doing lately. The brunette settled into their conversation, they talked and laughed and all of her problems melted away. Once they finished with their food and let it settle, Morgan stood and they cleared the dishes from the table. Then they continued talking and drinking wine. 

“Dance with me,” Morgan was now standing in front of Claire.

Surprise showed on Claire’s face. “What?”

Morgan outstretched her hands. “Please,”

Claire reluctantly took them and allowed herself to be led to an area where they had enough room. Morgan placed Claire’s hands for her. One hand on her shoulder and the other in her right hand. Then Morgan placed her hand higher on Claire’s waist. They did a simplified waltz. They did the steps as Morgan led. Claire laughed. She found what they were doing to be funny.

“What’s so funny?”

“After the day I’ve had, I was not expecting to be having dinner and dancing with Morgan Reznick at the end of it,”

Morgan felt a little self-conscious. “I hope this isn’t a bad thing,”

Claire smiled up at the blonde. “No, it’s great,”

“Good,” Morgan smiled devilishly at her. 

“What are you-” 

Morgan cut her off by making her do a spin. Morgan laughed and Claire followed quickly after. Then Morgan pulled her back against her. In their fit of laughs, Claire looked up at the beautiful blonde woman before her. It was that moment when it all changed, she acted on impulse, she indulged herself, she wasn’t drunk and trying to punish herself. Everything melted away, it was Claire and Morgan, they were the only people left in the world. Claire reached a hand up and touched Morgan’s cheek, she looked into her eyes making sure she was looking back at her, and Claire leaned up and kissed the beautiful woman's pink lips. It happened all too quickly, Morgan was caught off guard, but she instinctively kissed her back. When Claire finally pulled back she had a shy smile on her face.

Upon opening her eyes, Morgan sighed softly saying “Claire,” very softly. She was in disbelief.

Suddenly Claire was worried that she had done something very wrong. “Oh my God, I’m so so-” Her body tensed up.

Morgan shook her head insistently. “Claire no,” She grabbed Claire’s hands and leaned down looking her in the eyes. “Don’t feel bad, you didn’t do anything wrong,”

“It’s okay?” Claire’s body relaxed. “Can I kiss you again?” Morgan nodded eagerly and leaned in and they kissed again. It was a very soft kiss that they both reveled in.

When they pulled away Morgan kissed the top of her head. “Thank you,”

“For the kiss?” Claire laughed.

“No,” Morgan shook her head. “You did it. You did something overwhelmingly positive for someone today,”

“I didn’t do that for you,” Claire took a step back.

“I know,” She grabbed Claire’s hand. “Don’t you see, you did it for you,” Morgan smiled at the shorter woman. “You let yourself come here and have a good time tonight, you did something good for  _ you _ ,” 

Claire pulled her hand back. “This was your plan all along,” Claire squinted at Morgan. She wasn’t upset, she felt a little deceived, but she couldn’t argue with how she felt tonight. Morgan was right, she had a good time, she was able to let go of all the walls she has been keeping up.

“Yes, but not the kiss,” Morgan touched her bottom lip. “That was all you,” Claire’s expression softened.

_ The kiss _ . It wasn’t something she even realized she wanted to do before. Claire stepped forward again reducing the distance between them. “So, I was your positive thing?” Claire reached up wrapping her arms around Morgan’s neck. She brushed her fingers through Morgan’s hair playing with the strands.

Morgan shivered at the sensation, “I- uh, no? I think it was making you forget about things for a little bit,” Morgan wrapped her arms around Claire at her waist. 

“Well,” Claire began, “Thank you, Morgan,” She kissed Morgan’s cheek. Morgan blushed. “For doing exactly what I needed,” Claire rested her head on Morgan’s shoulder. Claire sidestepped making Morgan move with her.

Morgan took the hint and they started swaying back and forth to the music. “I’ll do whatever you need,” She looked down at Claire, “We’ll get through this,”

Claire finished her sentence. “Together,”

**Author's Note:**

> We need more Breznick content! Breznick rise!


End file.
